50 Fun Facts About Dancing with the Stars

DWTS is the American version of which British celebrity contest, licensed worldwide by the BBC?

Strictly Come Dancing borrows its title from the 1992 film Strictly Ballroom and the old series Come Dancing. The format has been sold to about 60 countries.

Which host of America's Funniest Home Videos also fronted Dancing with the Stars for its first 28 seasons?

Tom Bergeron hosted from the 2005 premiere until 2020, when he announced his own dismissal in a tweet. The job won him an Emmy in 2012.

What is the name of the trophy handed to the champion couple on Dancing with the Stars?

The Mirrorball was renamed from season 32 to honor the show's English head judge, who died in April 2023, months after retiring from the panel.

Which Moon-walking astronaut was the second celebrity voted off season 10 of Dancing with the Stars?

Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the Moon, was 80 when he danced with pro Ashly Costa in the spring of 2010.

Which future Euphoria star was sixteen when she finished runner-up on season 16 of Dancing with the Stars?

Zendaya was then the youngest contestant the show had ever cast. She lost the final to country singer Kellie Pickler.

Which rap mogul replaced his injured son Romeo on season 2 of Dancing with the Stars?

Master P scored just 8 out of 30 for his paso doble before being voted off in week four. Romeo finally competed himself in season 12.

Wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin won season 34 of Dancing with the Stars ten years after which relative?

His sister Bindi won season 21 as a teenager. A court held back her pay until her late father Steve's death certificate was produced.

Which country radio host won season 27 of Dancing with the Stars despite low scores from the judges?

Bobby Bones had the lowest judges' scores of the four finalists, yet viewers' votes still handed him the title. He was also a mentor on American Idol.

Which actor from Grease Live and Broadway's Hamilton won season 25 of Dancing with the Stars?

Jordan Fisher was 23, then the youngest man to lift the trophy, and he hosted the children's spin-off Juniors the following year.

Which Seinfeld actor lost the first Dancing with the Stars final, then won a rematch decided by viewers?

John O'Hurley, Seinfeld's J. Peterman, took the September 2005 rematch by about one percent of the audience vote. The show never staged another.

Which General Hospital actress became the first champion of Dancing with the Stars in the summer of 2005?

Kelly Monaco survived harsh early scores and a wardrobe malfunction to win a first season of just six couples. She returned for the all-star edition and finished third.

Jennifer Grey won season 11 of DWTS more than two decades after starring in which dance film?

Dirty Dancing made her famous in 1987. Before the contest she had surgery on an old neck injury, during which the surgeon found and removed a cancerous thyroid nodule.

Which Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star won season 19 of Dancing with the Stars and later became its host?

Alfonso Ribeiro scored a perfect 40 that season for a jazz routine set to It's Not Unusual, the song his sitcom character Carlton famously danced to.

Which supermodel took over as host of Dancing with the Stars in season 29 and became an executive producer?

Tyra Banks, long the face of America's Next Top Model, fronted three seasons before leaving in 2023 to focus on her business commitments.

Which network launched Dancing with the Stars in 2005 and lost it to a streaming service for season 31?

ABC debuted the contest as a six-couple summer series. Season 31 ran only on its parent company's streaming service before the show returned to broadcast a year later.

Season 26 of Dancing with the Stars, a four-week run in spring 2018, cast only which kind of celebrity?

Athletes filled all ten places, among them basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and notorious figure skater Tonya Harding, who finished third.

Which English ballroom teacher was head judge of Dancing with the Stars from 2005 until retiring in 2022?

Len Goodman also led the panel on the British original until 2016, and the American winners' trophy now carries his name.

Which football Hall of Famer beat actor Mario Lopez in the season 3 final of Dancing with the Stars?

Emmitt Smith, a three-time Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys, came back with the same professional partner for the all-star season.

Which Olympic gymnast won season 8 of Dancing with the Stars, then finished second in the all-star season 15?

Shawn Johnson won at seventeen, edging actor Gilles Marini by less than one percent. Her all-star defeat came against a rival from that same first run.

Which reality star was the third celebrity voted off season 7 of DWTS, years before brother Rob reached a final?

Kim Kardashian was gone within two weeks in 2008, a year after her family's reality series began. Rob finished runner-up in season 13.

Which pro won season 25 of Dancing with the Stars months after finishing runner-up with catcher David Ross?

Lindsay Arnold and her celebrity partner earned nine perfect scores that season. She first reached television as a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance.

Which Australian pro finally won season 27 of Dancing with the Stars after three runner-up finishes?

Sharna Burgess had finished second with a Backstreet Boys singer, racing driver James Hinchcliffe and NFL cornerback Josh Norman before viewers' votes carried her to the title.

Which DWTS pro was runner-up in season 27 with Milo Manheim and champion in season 34 with Robert Irwin?

Witney Carson won her second title exactly eleven years to the day after her first. Her choreography on the show has also earned an Emmy nomination.

Which DWTS pro partnered runner-up Lindsey Stirling in season 25 and champion Charli D'Amelio in season 31?

Mark Ballas claimed his third title with D'Amelio, after wins in seasons 6 and 8. Both of his parents were professional ballroom dancers.

Which former child star turned stock car racer finished third in season 25 of Dancing with the Stars?

Frankie Muniz, the title star of Malcolm in the Middle, went on to co-host the show's children's spin-off the following year.

Which Harry Potter actress finished third in season 27 of Dancing with the Stars with pro Keo Motsepe?

Evanna Lynch, the films' Luna Lovegood, took her partner to a final for the first time. A year earlier he had been the first pro sent home.

Which married couple danced against each other in season 25 of Dancing with the Stars, paired with married pros?

Nick and Vanessa Lachey drew pros Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who were themselves husband and wife. Vanessa outlasted Nick by a week.

Which Shark Tank investor was the first celebrity eliminated from season 25 of Dancing with the Stars?

Barbara Corcoran, who sold her New York real estate firm for $66 million in 2001, was voted off in the season's second week.

Which country-pop superstar was a guest judge on movie night in season 25 of Dancing with the Stars?

Shania Twain sat in as a fourth judge for A Night at the Movies, so that week's routines were scored out of 40 rather than the usual 30.

Which two-time champion pro partnered Terrell Owens in season 25 of DWTS and Juan Pablo Di Pace in season 27?

Cheryl Burke was the first woman pro to win the contest and the first pro to win two seasons running, in seasons 2 and 3. She danced in 26 seasons in all.

Which sportscaster placed third in season 10 of Dancing with the Stars, then co-hosted it from season 18?

Erin Andrews was an ESPN reporter when she danced in 2010. She shared hosting duties for eleven seasons while also working NFL sidelines for Fox.

Which pro won Dancing with the Stars six times before joining the judging panel in season 29?

Derek Hough took a judge's chair when the English head judge could not travel to Los Angeles during the pandemic. By 2023 his choreography for the show had won four Emmys.

Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba first found fame as a Fly Girl on which sketch show?

In Living Color featured her among its original Fly Girls from 1990 to 1992. She had started out as a pop singer in Japan and later danced on a Madonna world tour.

Dancing with the Stars judge Bruno Tonioli danced in a 1983 music video for which British singer?

Elton John's video for I'm Still Standing features Tonioli among the dancers. He went on to choreograph videos and tours for Tina Turner, Sting and the Rolling Stones.

Which Olympic champion figure skater became the second woman to win Dancing with the Stars, in season 6?

Kristi Yamaguchi, the 1992 gold medallist, ended a run of four male winners. She returned in season 25 to dance a jazz trio with finalist Lindsey Stirling.

Which Winter Olympic medallist won season 4 of Dancing with the Stars and returned for the all-star season?

Apolo Ohno, the short-track speed skater, beat NSYNC's Joey Fatone in the 2007 final. He later hosted a revival of the game show Minute to Win It.

Which 1970s teen idol won season 9 of Dancing with the Stars, beating singer Mýa in the final?

Donny Osmond won two years after Marie had finished third in season 5. He was later runner-up on the first season of The Masked Singer.

Which Olympic ice dance champion won season 18 of Dancing with the Stars against her own skating partner?

Meryl Davis and Charlie White, a team since 1997, joined the cast weeks after winning gold in Sochi. He was the seventh celebrity voted off.

Which deaf contestant won season 22 of Dancing with the Stars months after winning America's Next Top Model?

Nyle DiMarco, only the second deaf contestant on the American show, became the first deaf celebrity to win any version of the format worldwide.

Which Iraq War veteran and soap actor won season 13 of Dancing with the Stars after surviving severe burns?

J. R. Martinez was burned over a third of his body in Iraq in 2003 and later joined the cast of All My Children. He led the 2012 Rose Parade as Grand Marshal.

Which supermodel injured her arm rehearsing for season 28 of Dancing with the Stars and was replaced by her daughter?

Christie Brinkley needed emergency surgery shortly before the premiere, so her daughter Sailor took her place with only a few days to learn the first routine.

Which Cruel Intentions actress withdrew from season 31 of Dancing with the Stars after one final waltz?

Selma Blair, who has multiple sclerosis, left in week five to protect her health. Her farewell routine earned the season's first perfect score.

Which Star Wars actor withdrew from season 18 of Dancing with the Stars with a chronic back problem?

Billy Dee Williams, the saga's Lando Calrissian, pulled out in week three on a doctor's advice, so nobody was eliminated that night.

Which Oscar-winning actress competed in season 7 of Dancing with the Stars at the age of 82?

Cloris Leachman outlasted six younger rivals to finish seventh. Her run reportedly led Mel Brooks to offer her a part in Broadway's Young Frankenstein.

Which YouTube star was half of the first same-sex pairing on Dancing with the Stars, in season 30?

JoJo Siwa danced with a female pro and finished as runner-up. A year earlier, Time had named her among the 100 most influential people in the world.

Which NBA champion became the first basketball player to win Dancing with the Stars, in season 30?

Iman Shumpert, a 2016 title winner with the Cleveland Cavaliers, earned four perfect tens for a contemporary routine that went viral online.

Which former Bachelor contestant won the all-star season 15 of Dancing with the Stars with pro Tony Dovolani?

Melissa Rycroft had first joined season 8 as a late replacement for an injured contestant and finished third. In the all-star final she beat two former champions.

A theme night in seasons 25 and 27 of DWTS had every couple dance to songs from which studio's films?

Disney Night fell in week five of both seasons. In season 25 the routines ran in the order the films were released, oldest first.

Which pro, promoted from the troupe in season 25 of DWTS, later won season 28 with Hannah Brown?

Alan Bersten joined the troupe in season 20 and stood in for injured pros before his promotion. He reached the season 27 final with model Alexis Ren.

Which Brazilian Indianapolis 500 winner, nicknamed Spider-Man, won season 5 of Dancing with the Stars?

Hélio Castroneves earned the nickname by climbing the trackside fence after his victories. He beat Spice Girl Mel B in the 2007 final.